Ask Jerry
Biography
Asked by Melodie Vervloet on August 15, 2020
Hi Jerry,
I have started to write a biography of my grandmother. Her evangelist husband drowned on August 7, 1943, while she was expecting their second child. The letters she received (which are many and 77 years old) are full of wisdom and comfort.
I would like to write the biography in story form but don't know how to include the letters (Or parts of the letters.) How could I include the letters in a creative way? The theme of the letters is praise for her acceptance of her situation and even being an overcomer in it.
Jerry's Answer
Who are the letters from, Melodie? Maybe they came at just the time she needed them and that would justify including quotes from them.
Remember, even in nonfiction you need tension and conflict. So unless they come to her at a time when she's desperate, they might just be warm fuzzies that don't add much to the story.